Love Sick
by toxic-dreamer-2
Summary: “Are you okay, Helga?” he asked, kindly. “You seem a little…well..not yourself today.” ....AXH
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, after much debate (with myself, of course)-I've decided to post this.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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Helga looked down at her tray with half open eyes as she idly moved her food around with her fork. Her body ached and she felt completely drained-so much so, that she couldn't find it in her to even be her usual bullying self.

She had spent the first half of her day in almost a haze, not really concerned with what was happening around her. In fact, Mr. Simmons could have lit himself on fire and started dancing the Macarena and she never would have lifted her head up from her desk.

"Helga, are you certain you're feeling well?"

Helga frowned in annoyance and looked up to find a pair of concerned brown eyes staring from behind glasses. She had only barely acknowledged her friends glances during class and had already been asked by her, several times, if she was okay.

Helga would never admit to any weakness- mostly because she hated people feeling sorry for her- and Phoebe was no exception.

"You're starting to sound like a broken record, Pheebs," She replied, with a lot more strength than she felt. "I already told you, I'm fine."

"Oh, of course," Phoebe replied undeterred. "It's just that you haven't really eaten anything yet and-"

"That's because this food is garbage," Helga protested, nose crinkled in disgust. "Seriously Pheebs, how can they get away with serving this junk to kids?"

A smile tugged at the corner of Phoebe's mouth at hearing her friends usual disapproval, but just as Helga was sure she was off the hook, something tickled her throat and she coughed several times into her hand.

Phoebe's eyes were on her again.

"Helga, are you-"

"Absolutely fine." Helga replied with a slight edge to her voice, despite a cough in between.

Phoebe didn't say anything more, but the look on her face told Helga that she didn't believe her.

Helga let out an exasperated sigh.

"If you're so concerned then why don't you go get me some water or something," She replied, her tone letting Phoebe know that it was more of a demand than a request.

On reflex though, Phoebe sat up a little straighter and replied "Getting", before excusing herself from the table.

Letting out a long breath as her friend left, Helga pushed aside her tray and placed her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her open palm. She felt her eyelids become heavy, and considered taking a small nap before lunch time was over-despite anymore suspicions from Phoebe. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the cafeteria noise as a slight headache began to form.

"Helga?"

She jerked up in her seat, startled, and scowling at whoever had snuck up on her.

"What's your problem you little.." she turned to yell at the person that was standing next to her, but then her anger immediately vanished…"Oh..Arnold.", then upon seeing his confused expression, she remembered to scowl again. "What do you want, football head?"

Arnold's confusion lessened and he gave her a thoughtful and somewhat concerned look.

"Are you okay, Helga?" he asked, kindly. "You seem a little…well..not yourself today."

Normally Helga would have started reciting inner poetry about her beloved's kindness and compassion, being flattered and touched by his concern, but having been asked that question so many times already, another part of her was truly annoyed.

"It's none of your business, Hair-boy," She replied slowly folding her arms across her chest, and then giving him a suspicious look. "And what do you mean by 'not myself'?"

Arnold considered her question.

He had spent most of class time glancing back at her, awaiting spitballs and angry scowls that never came. In fact, Helga had not, to his knowledge, even looked up at him.

Gerald had told him that he should be grateful for whatever caused Helga's sudden change in attitude, but the thought that something was wrong continued to nag at him; that, and the fact that Helga continued to ignore his presence as if he wasn't even worth an insult anymore.

"Well, you haven't called me football head until just now, or even picked on anyone today." He paused and then smiled slightly. "And I'm usually picking spitballs out of my hair by now."

He let out a small laugh, as if he had just said a joke that only the two of them would understand. Helga tugged at the collar of her shirt for a moment, suddenly finding the cafeteria a bit too warm for her liking, as her clouded mind pieced together what he had just said.

"Whoa, hold the phone there, Arnoldo," She gave him an incredulous look. "Are you saying you actually _want_ me to pick on you?"

Arnold opened his mouth to dismiss such an insane claim, but stopped himself.

Now that he thought about it, it was almost unnerving to realize how distracted Helga had made him by simply doing nothing.

"It's not that," Arnold finally replied, after only a few seconds pause. "I was just…um..worried about you, that's all."

"Oh." Helga replied, a bit disappointed, but simply giving Arnold a disinterested look.

On any other day she would have rolled her eyes at him, telling him to mind his own business, or said something else to keep his attention on her for a bit longer. However, Helga realized that she really wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone today, and that included even her beloved football head.

After all, with how distracted she felt, she was sure she would slip and say something that may give her feelings for him away; she was already being nicer to him than usual.

Her headache felt increasingly worse from having to think so much with him around too, and she didn't feel like even speaking at the moment. So, she laid her head in the palms of her hands with her elbows on the table once again, and hoped he would just…leave.

"If something's wrong, you can tell me." Arnold assured her, a little more worried by Helga's behavior.

Helga just closed her eyes, brow furrowed-more from her headache than annoyance-, and groaned.

Was it her imagination or had the cafeteria gotten even louder?

She pressed the tips of her fingers against her forehead as if to suppress the now constant throbbing in her head.

She groaned again and in a strained and annoyed tone replied, "Go away."

Arnold frowned slightly at her response-not realizing her words were not directed at him.

"I'm just trying to help, Helga." he replied with a twinge of annoyance. "Why do you always have to be so…difficult? Why can't you be nicer like..well, like Lila?"

As soon as he had started to speak, it was as if Helga's brain had put all other noises on mute, and focused solely on Arnold's voice. At first this came as a relief to Helga, but each word Arnold spoke began filling her with more and more anger, until her whole body felt hot. It wasn't until she heard Lila's name did she feel like she had reached her boiling point and she abruptly stood up, slamming her hands on the table before turning swiftly to face him, scowling.

"Why don't you just mind your own-..your..own"

Helga paused, a sudden dizziness taking hold of her from having moved so quickly. The anger left her face, replaced by a slightly confused expression, as she placed her left hand on the side of her head and teetered forward.

Eyes wide, Arnold grabbed Helga's right arm to steady her, and frowned worriedly.

"Helga, are you okay?" he asked.

Helga groaned slightly, feeling more than a little disoriented, and mumbled something under her breath.

"Huh?"

Arnold leaned closer toward her, though her head was bowed slightly at this point and she didn't notice.

"Wish everyone.. would stop…asking that." She mumbled in a slightly louder tone, lifting her head.

It only took her a second to realize that someone was extremely close to her face-and another second to realize that someone was Arnold- and when she did, Helga felt her eyes grow wide.

His attention was on her and her alone, his green eyes shining with care and concern-all for her! She felt her face grow warm, but really didn't seem to mind that she was openly blushing.

"Helga?"

Arnold blinked uncertainly at Helga's now flushed face, and as if her lack of yelling at this point was permission enough for him, he brought his right hand up to gently press against her forehead.

At this point, the voice of reason in Helga's head had finally broken through her denial, and was telling her that something was not right….that she didn't feel like herself..that she needed to go somewhere-anywhere-away from here before she did something foolish. However, as Arnolds cool hand came to rest against her forehead, brushing back her bangs, she found herself doubting that any of this was real-I mean,…it just couldn't be. The only time Arnold ever got this close to her, every touched her with such care, was only in her…

'_Oh. I get it' _she thought suddenly. _'I must've really fallen asleep after Phoebe left then.'_

Fully believing that she was just lost within another one of her Arnold dreams, she leaned into his touch-her eyes falling half closed, and a small lazy smile on her face.

"Helga." Arnold finally replied, eyes wide in alarm at how warm she felt. "I think..I mean…you're so hot."

Helga let out a small girlish giggle, and Arnold knew for sure that something was definitely wrong.

"Glad you think so," She replied blearily, then blinked when Arnold's face went out of focus.

"Helga?"

She never remembered that happening in her dreams before-things were never this blurry and….her head hurt again. Why would her head hurt in her dream?

"Helga, I think you should go to the nurse's office," Arnold replied, concerned and serious. "I can walk you there, if you'd like me to."

'Hm..?"

What was going on? Was Arnold saying something…..why couldn't she make out what he was saying…and why did he pull his hand away? She felt dizzy again….light headed. It felt like the room was moving, that the ground beneath her was shifting…or…didn't exits at all.

She wanted to wake up now, she didn't like this dream….she'd had enough.

"Helga?"

By now Arnold had become increasingly more worried by Helga's unresponsiveness; her once lively blue eyes had become glassy and unfocused, and her face now looked somewhat pale. He was about to say her name once again when she suddenly began to fall forward.

Helga had no desire to stop herself either. After all, this was just a dream…..there wasn't even a ground to fall on-as far as she was concerned.

Arnold quickly reached out to steady her again, but didn't manage in time. Helga fell forward, collapsing into his arms, and sending them both crashing to the floor. Arnold managed not to fall completely on his back and used one of his hands to cushion the blow.

Two other people, who had been observing the blonde pair for quite some time-one shaking their head at their friends bold action before watching the situation with intent curiosity, and the other tightly clutching a water bottle in her small hands, having hoped that Arnold would discover the reason behind Helga's behavior-both yelled out the names of their best friends and were soon racing to their sides.

The cafeteria broke out into another loud roar as people suddenly got up from their seats hoping to see what was going on.

Arnold, however, remained almost motionless as he looked down at the girl who was now lying on top of him, her warm forehead resting heavily on his chest. Her expression-from what he could see- was calm, her brow not creased and her mouth not turned down into it's usual scowl. Her golden blonde hair, still tied into two pigtails, now seemed less stiff and were drooping slightly- like a dogs ears after being scolded- her pink bow still proudly atop her head. She looked so fragile like that, so small, so weak-everything Helga wasn't, or shouldn't have been- and Arnold had to tell himself that it was the still lingering shock of Helga falling that made his heartbeat a little faster, that it was his concern and worry for her that caused a lump to form in his throat, and if it happened to look like he was blushing…well…there had to be a perfectly good reason for that too.

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**I rather like this ending...I had something different before, but this one is much better. Anyway...this is all I have done with this, although I'm planning on making more chapters if the readers think it's worth continuing (maybe even if you don't think so, heh). However, I'm about to go on a little vacation next week, so there will be a delay with the next chapter (which I haven't started on yet, but do have ideas for).**

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow...19 reviews for the first chapter! I honestly wasn't expecting that many people to be interested, but...wow. Thanks.**

**I'm not sure if this chapter will measure up to the first one, but the story is going to pick up a lot more within the next couple of chapters after this so...bare with me.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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--

Helga sat up straight, gasping in surprise at the sudden cold and wet sensation that had come over her. She blinked, trying to remove the blurriness from her vision as she looked around frantically.

What happened? Where was she..?

"Helga?"

This small, meek and familiar voice caused her to look over, blinking. Everything was a still bit out-of-focus and so it took Helga a few moments to register the dark hair, glasses, and concerned brown eyes of the person on her knees beside her.

'_Pheebs?' _

The reassuring touch of a hand on her shoulder brought her attention to the person who was in front of her- a football shaped head, golden blond hair, and bright green eyes.

"Helga, are you okay?" He asked, voice laced with worry.

Helga felt her panic subside at the sight of her beloved, ignoring the feeling of her headache returning as she noticed his position- down on one knee before her. Smiling dreamily, she imagined Arnold pulling out a diamond ring and proposing, telling her that he couldn't possibly live another day without her by his side.

She let out a content sigh and was nearly ready to except his offer, even confess to him her love, when..

"Wow, can't believe that actually worked."

Startled by this new voice, Helga looked at the person to her right, who was standing, only slightly bent over, and a half empty water bottle in his hand.

Blinking herself back to reality, she realized that her face was wet and she was sitting on the cafeteria floor with a large crowd of people gathering around them. she frowned in confusion and annoyance.

"What the heck is going on here?" She demanded, sending a particularly nasty look toward Gerald, who sheepishly hid the bottle behind his back.

"I believe you fainted, Helga." Phoebe answered.

Helga turned her attention back toward her friend, the anger on her face changing to mild surprise.

'_Fainted?'_

Slowly her confusion was replaced by realization, recalling what had happened before; her headache, Arnold approaching her, how she had gotten angry and stood up to yell at him,…and then the room suddenly spinning…everything getting blurry…and the brief feeling of herself falling.

Now here she was on the floor- with Arnold, Gerald, and Phoebe surrounding her, and the rest of the student body close behind.

'_Perfect.' _she thought, disappointed with herself for letting something like this happen. _'Just perfect.'_

Arnold slowly pulled his hand away, still ignoring the crowd of people around them as he watch Helga's expression. He could tell she remembered what happened, yet she still looked…lost-like she was trying to figure out what she should do next.

Only a second later though, Helga's usual scowl appeared on her face, and when she spoke, her voice contained that same sarcastic-if not somewhat rude-quality it always had.

"Are you guys just going to stare at me all day?" She asked, "Or is _someone _going to help me up?"

Although her question seemed to be directed at all three of them, Arnold noticed her eyes linger on him a bit longer when she said the word 'someone'.

"Oh! Right." He started, quickly getting to his feet, and offering her his hand.

He smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, Helga."

Helga frowned, grabbing his hand and pulling herself up.

"Yeah, yeah." She replied, brushing some imaginary dust off her dress as phoebe came to stand beside her.

The crowd behind them remained- although not as interested now that it seemed Helga was okay- they were still reluctant to sit back down…as if they expected her to fall apart at any moment.

'_Fat chance of that happening' _Helga thought, putting on her best glare, and holding herself high-ignoring her body's aches and pains.

"Okay people, shows over." She announced callously, causing looks of disappointment to wash over the crowd, and a collective 'aw'.

"That's right, move along. Nothing to see here." she replied, folding her arms across her chest as everyone slowly went back to their seats.

Arnold found himself surprised-even a little bit impressed-by Helga's attitude; you would never have guessed that only moments before she had fainted and been lying on the floor.

Once the crowd dispersed though, Helga felt all her strength leave her again- her glare turning into a weary frown, and her tense posture now easing.

"Helga," came phoebe's worried voice. "Perhaps it would be best if you went to the nurses office."

Helga managed to give Phoebe a slightly annoyed look, but couldn't find it in her to argue. There was little chance of convincing Phoebe she was fine after just collapsing, and Helga couldn't stand the cafeteria noise or the smell of food any longer.

She let out a reluctant sigh, looked the other way, and muttered a faint "fine."

Phoebe was surprised at how quickly Helga had relented, giving her an even more concerned look than before.

"Okay then." She nodded. "We should probably go now."

'_We?'_

Helga turned back toward her, frowning. "I think I can manage to get there on my own, Pheebs."

Phoebe frowned.

"But Helga I.."

"-Have hardly even touched your food." Helga interrupted, looking mildly annonyed.

"But Helga, you.."

"-Are perfectly capable of walking on my own," Helga cut her off again, sounding more frustrated. "I don't need anyone to hold my hand, Phoebe. So just sit back down and finish your lunch before the bell rings, okay?"

Although to anyone else it would seem like Helga was being harsh towards her friend, Arnold was able to look past Helga's mean tone and decipher the meaning within her words.

Helga didn't want Phoebe to miss out on eating because of her.

Helga was telling Phoebe not to worry, that she would be okay, and for her to stay and enjoy what's left of her lunch.

Arnold smiled slightly at the realization.

It was well disguised, he had to admit, but Helga really did care for her friend.

A glance toward Gerald, however, let Arnold know that his friend had definitely not understood Helga's intentions. Gerald simply looked annoyed as he shook his head, probably wondering why someone as nice as Phoebe put up with someone as mean as Helga.

Phoebe obviously understood -she was Helga's best friend, after all- but Arnold could still tell she was reluctant to let her friend go.

Before he even realized it, Arnold found himself stepping closer to the two.

"I can take you."

Helga looked over, startled, before frowning slightly.

Arnold could tell she was about to protest and so cut her off before she could begin.

"I've already finished my lunch." he replied, "And this way Phoebe can finish hers without having to worry about you getting to the nurses office okay."

Helga was conflicted. On the one hand, she admired Arnold's problem solving abilities and loved that he seemed to care enough to offer to help, but on the other hand, she didn't want him-or anyone else- to think she _needed_ his help either. If she _didn't_ let Arnold take her though, she knew Phoebe would keep insisting on going herself-(it surprised Helga how stubborn Her friend could be at times)-, but If Helga _did _go with Arnold, she wasn't sure if she could keep up her 'tough girl' act around him the entire time…and what if he got suspicious…or she let something slip…or..

'_Ugh…headache.'_

She grimaced slightly and brought her hand up to her head. All this thinking was making her feel dizzy again.

Arnold frowned at Helga's pained expression and reached a hand out to lay on her shoulder.

"Please, Helga."

She looked up to met Arnold's gaze, his eyes pleading with hers to let him help. She was startled by how intense his gaze was and so briefly let her guard down..

"I..um..," She blinked, then frowned again and mumbled, "Fine. If it will make everyone feel better than you can walk me to the stupid nurses office."

Arnold pulled his hand back and smiled some, grateful that-for once-they didn't have to argue so much.

"Don't read too much into it, football head," Helga replied, seeing his smile. "It's not like I enjoy your company or anything."

"Right." Arnold sighed, actually feeling a little disappointed by Helga's attitude.

Why did she always have to be that way with him?

"Ya know, there's still some water left in this thing." Gerald said to his friend, smirking as he held up the bottle of water. "Just in case."

Helga glared over at him, though Arnold could tell it took a lot of effort for her to look intimidating- at least, to him.

"Lucky for you I don't feel good today, Geraldo." She replied. "or I'd pound you even with Phoebe standing right there."

Gerald suddenly looked very interested in what Helga had just said.

"What does Phoebe have to do with you pounding me or not?" he asked, curious.

Helga's mean look vanished when she realized what she had just said.

"Uh..well.."

"I just don't care much for displays of violence." Phoebe interrupted quickly, managing to sound fairly calm. "I'm terribly squeamish."

"Oh." Gerald replied, a bit disappointed that there was nothing more to it than that.

Helga was relieved that she hadn't betrayed Phoebes trust (even by accident), but she also couldn't believe Gerald had bought such a lame excuse.

She rolled her eyes slightly at how cluesless he was, but immediately regretted it as it caused her head to ache even more.

'_Okay…not a good idea.' _she told herself, raising her hand and using the tips of her fingers to massage her temples.

Arnold noticed this and turned toward her.

"Helga, are you-"

"Lets just go." She replied, trying to sound firm, although her voice came out in more of a whine.

Arnold nodded a bit toward her, though she wasn't paying attention, and then looked back at his friend.

"I'll catch up with you in a bit, Gerald."

"Later, man." Gerald replied, a smile working its way to his face as he added playfully, "Good luck."

Arnold rolled his eyes at his friends comment, but smiled nonetheless.

"I hope you get to feeling better, Helga." Phoebe replied worriedly, noticing her friend miserable expression.

Helga glanced up, forcing a arrogant smile onto her paler than usual face.

"This is me you're talk'n to Pheebs," She replied, placing a hand on her hip in a overly confident manner. "By this time tomorrow, I'll be kicking butts and taking names."

Phoebe chuckled slightly, relieved by her friends joking tone.

Helga took this as her cue to leave and started for the door, frowning self-consciously as she did so, a feeling of nausea washing over her.

Arnold walked in front of her to open the door, surprised when Helga walked right on through without a word being said. He certainly hadn't been expecting a thank you, but Helga didn't even protest to his chivalrous act-as he had known her to do in the past.

As he went to walk beside her, he noticed she looked a little paler again, her expression weary- a complete contrast to the way she was acting mere moments before with Phoebe.

Helga took in a few calming breaths as she walked, hoping the feeling in her stomach would subside.

Arnold eyed her warily, resisting the urge to ask her if she was okay; knowing she wouldn't admit to it, even if she wasn't.

_'This isn't good.'_ Helga thought as her mouth began to water, and she swallowed, shuddering as she did so and her mouth watered again.

_'Oh no.'_

She came to a stop, and groaned weakly, bending over slightly and wrapping her arms around her stomach.

"Helga?"

She winced at Arnold's voice, looking up at his deeply concerned expression.

_'God, he's gorgeous.'_ She couldn't help but think, but in contrast to this she sputtered out,

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

--

**Well there's chapter two! **

**Since I'm not good at summary's, a lot of the readers probably aren't sure where I'm going with this, but you'll catch on. **

**At the end of the first chapter Arnold was blushing, but he was distracted enough in this chapter not to give it much thought...the next chapter will be different. Arnolds going to be doing some serious thinking...um..I think. lol. I haven't started on the next chapter just yet.**

**I think I'm going to make this story my 'summer project'.**

**Please reveiw and let me know what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AH! Okay, first off..Thanks for the reviews! **

**Chapter two was kind of a bore, and I'm still not satisfied with how it turned out, but oh well. At least chapter three was a lot more entertaining to write for.**

**Enjoy!**

**--**

Arnold stumbled back as Helga darted past him, a hand covering her mouth as she hastily made her way toward a trash can that was located at the end of a set of lockers.

She grabbed both sides of the can, practically throwing herself forward into it as she proceeded to empty her stomach.

Having not eaten lunch, and only consuming half a piece of burnt toast that morning -compliments of Miriam- she continued retching, bringing up bile and little else.

Arnold cringed at the sound of Helga throwing up, frowning and slowly making his way toward her. He had been worried and a bit frightened when she had passed out in the cafeteria, but her behavior afterwards had caused Arnold to let down his guard. Now he was even more worried, recalling Helga's fever, her dizziness, and now…nausea and vomiting? He wondered just exactly what could be wrong with her, and a strange sort of fear gripped his heart at the idea of Helga being seriously, maybe even deathly, ill.

Helga took in a few calm breaths when her stomach finally felt settled enough, her hands loosening around the outside of the garbage can. She shuddered slightly at the bitter taste in her mouth and began coughing, ridding herself of anything within her throat.

She inwardly winced when she remember that Arnold was with her, probably watching from a safe distance with a look of total disgust on his face.

'_Great.'_ She thought. _'Now he'll want even less to do with..'_

Before she could complete this thought, she felt something warm lay gently against her back. She glanced to the side, head still bent over the trash can, and could make out Arnolds blue sweater. When she realized it was Arnolds hand that was resting on her back, her sudden intake of breath caused her to cough again. She felt Arnolds hand move up and down her back as if to…soothe her.

'_Oh Arnold, my love'_ she mentally sighed, feeling a bit lightheaded._ 'So caring. So kind. You're touch alone could heal a thousand wounds within my soul.'_

When her coughs subsided, she felt his hand come to a hesitant stop, and with this- so did her current thoughts.

Arnold frowned, pulling back his hand. He hadn't been sure of how to Help Helga, but rubbing her back seemed like something he could do to at least comfort her. He wondered for a moment if she had even noticed, as he watched her shake her head, her grasp on the trash can tightening.

'_Get a hold of yourself, Helga,'_ she scolded herself. _'Now is not the time to be going gaga over Arnold-especially with him standing right there!'_

"Helga?"

"Yuck!" Helga spat into the trash can, nose crinkled in disgust as she pulled back to stand, her hands falling down to her sides. "Gross."

Arnold frowned sympathetically. "Guess you really are sick, huh?"

Helga blinked, then sent Arnold the most annoyed look she could muster.

"No duh, Sherlock," She replied, "What was your first clue?"

Helga inwardly frowned, not at all satisfied with how she sounded. Her tone clearly maintained its usual sarcasm and annoyance, but her voice was scratchy and raw from the abuse her throat had just suffered.

Arnold was briefly annoyed by Helga's rude reply, but he also noted the strained quality in her voice, and immediately his previous concern returned. He couldn't let Helga's behavior distract him from the fact that she was sick….very sick, it seemed.

"We should get to the nurses office."

Helga stared at him for a moment, admittedly caught off guard by the urgency in Arnolds voice. His expression was set into a troubled frown and his eyes were focused on her with such intensity that she felt her legs become weak.

She opened her mouth to speak, her mind automatically telling her to put up some kind of argument, but she couldn't get any words to come out.

Finally she closed her mouth and gave a tight nod of agreement, her expression revealing her inner confusion.

Arnold inwardly sighed, shoulders becoming less tense and expression softening as he noticed Helga's questioning gaze.

He took a step forward, reaching out as if to grab Helga's arm, but stopped himself.

"Um…can you walk?" he asked, somewhat awkwardly.

Helga blinked, returning from her momentary stupor and frowning at him.

Instead of verbally answering his question though, she turned on her heel and started off down the hall.

Arnold gaped at how resilient Helga appeared to be, and quickly caught up with her, matching her brisk steps.

"Maybe you should slow down, Helga." He suggested, the slightest note of concern in his voice. "You don't want to over do it."

Helga inwardly sneered.

"I'm not some kind of porcelain doll, Arnoldo," she replied, skillfully avoiding his gaze -which was sure to render her speechless again. "I'm not gonna shatter into a million pieces or anything. I'm just feelin' a little crummy today, alright? So just back off."

"Helga-"

"-You're the one who seems to be in a hurry anyway," Helga continued, still walking briskly, recalling the previous urgency in Arnold voice. _'Can't take being around me for even a few minutes'_ she thought dejectedly. _'No wonder he sounded so serious about getting to the nurses office.'_

"Helga-"

"You just can't wait to get rid of me, can you, football head," She sneered.

"Helga-"

"It's not like I was the one who volunteered you to-"

"Helga!"

His hand reached up and grabbed her wrist, tugging her back some as they both came to a stop.

Helga looked over at him, too shocked at first to do or say anything. I mean, since when was Arnold the aggressive type?

She let out a few indignant stutters before scowling at him, jerking her hand away.

"Who said you could touch me?!" She all but shrieked.

Arnold frowned slightly. "Sorry Helga, it's just that-"

"It's just what?" She cut him off, breathing heavy and heart pounding.

Arnold sighed, giving her an exasperated look as he motioned behind him with his thumb. "You passed up the door."

Helga's eyes widened.

"Oh." a blush quickly replaced the fury that had previously adorned her face. "W-well I wouldn't have passed it up if you weren't distracting me." She replied, attempting to mask her embarrassment with blame.

"Whatever you say, Helga." Arnold replied, in his usual calm manner.

Helga frowned only slightly at this and turned to head back toward the nurses door, but Arnold noticed her movements were much more sluggish than before.

As she came to a stop in front of the nurses office, she refused to look over at Arnold-who had not strayed from her side- fearing what kind of look he must be giving her at that moment.

'_Way to make a fool of yourself, Helga.'_ the girl thought, fatigue finally taking hold of her- settling within ever bone in her body.

She sighed, raising her hand up to knock on the door when it suddenly opened.

"Oh my," the nurse said, blinking in surprise at finding two kids waiting outside her door.

"What can I do for you children?" She asked, smiling slightly as she glanced between the two.

However, when her eyes met Helga's, she paused, frowning.

"My goodness, deary," She replied, concern etched across her features. "You look positively awful."

Helga let out a low growl, and Arnold struggled not to grin a her annoyance- reminding himself that something could be seriously wrong- then instantly feeling guilty.

"Come right on in you two," The nurse replied motioning for them to enter the office.

Helga went on in, expecting Arnold to excuse himself from the situation and head back to the cafeteria. When she heard nothing but the sound of the door closing behind them, she briefly frowned while thinking Arnold had just walked off without so much as a goodbye. When she turned slightly to find him right behind her, she didn't try and hide her confusion, and Arnolds only response to this was to smile reassuringly up at her.

Helga struggled to come up with a reason why Arnold would bother to follow her in; the hopeful romantic in her wishing to believe he just wanted to be close to her, while the more grounded part of her was trying to discover what exactly was in it for him.

She watched as Arnolds smile suddenly fell from his face before he looked up at the nurse and smiled again.

"My name's Arnold," He replied, turning his attention back to Helga expectantly.

She frowned, confused. What was he talking about, and why was he looking at her that way for?

"And this is Helga." Arnold continued, in which Helga realized the nurse had obviously asked the two a question.

"I see." The nurse nodded, before looking sympathetically down at Helga. "And what seems to be the problem, deary?"

Helga frowned, knowing that it was obvious that she was the one who was sick.

"I just don't feel so good," She replied, shrugging as if to say it was no big deal.

Arnold frowned at her reply. He had suspected that Helga might try to down play some of her symptoms and it was one of the reasons he had decided to stick around. If the nurse was going to figure out what was wrong, then she was going to need Helga to be completely honest about how she felt; and Arnold knew Helga was not exactly a very open person.

The nurse stared at Helga expectantly and nodded for her to continue.

Helga sighed.

"I have a headache." She admitted, as if that were all that needed to be said.

"And a fever." Arnold decided to add.

The nurse stared over at him, and Helga sent him an annoyed look.

"At least, that's what it felt like before you fainted." Arnold continued, giving away another bit of information.

"Fainted?" The nurse gasped.

"I just got a little dizzy, that's all." Helga corrected grumpily.

"Why don't you have a seat up here, hon.," The nurse suggested in a kind hearted tone, gesturing toward a bed- which Helga considered a cross between a dentist chair and an examination table.

"I'll get you something to drink and then we can take your temperature."

Helga let out a half-agitated, half-defeated, sigh before pulling herself up onto the table. She glared at Arnold for a brief moment, but received only another apologetic smile, causing her to turn her head away from him.

Glancing around, Arnold noticed a couple of chairs sitting against the wall near the entrance, and took the seat closest to the door.

'_May as well get comfortable.'_ he thought, knowing he would stick around at least until the nurse figured out what was wrong.

That was the second reason why Arnold had followed Helga in. There was just no way he could have gone back to the cafeteria, left wondering for the rest of the day…or who knows how long…if Helga was alright. His mind would not be a rest until he was absolutely sure that Helga would be okay.

He looked up as the nurse handed Helga a small cup of water and began searching for a thermometer.

Helga still had her head turned away from him, and only took a few small sips from her cup before letting out a barely audible sigh.

Sighing to himself, Arnold leaned back into his seat, staring down at his now entwined hands.

Early that day, Arnold had been telling himself that it was not knowing the reason behind Helga's behavior that bothered him- that he was worried about her- and nothing else. However, even now that he knew Helga wasn't feeling well…he still felt somewhat disappointed at having her ignore him.

Why was that?

Arnold shook his head, remembering how Helga had asked him if he actually _wanted_ her to pick on him.

That wasn't it.

He just wanted her to….acknowledge him…in some way…if even just by looking at him.

He frowned as he realized how childish that sounded, knowing he had never been the kind of person to demand attention from, well, anybody-especially Helga.

'_Not that I've ever had to really try to get Helga's attention before'_ Arnold thought.

Maybe it was just that Helga's presence in his life had become so consistent, that having her suddenly giving him the cold shoulder had left him….confused.

He inwardly sighed, deciding he didn't really have an answer for the way he was feeling-or even what he was feeling. Concern and worry for Helga? Yes. That was the only thing he was certain of. After all, who wouldn't be concerned if their friend was sick, and despite everything…Arnold did consider her a friend.

'_Just a friend who likes to make my life a little harder.'_ He thought to himself. '_And who doesn't really care for me too much.'_

He wasn't so sure about that last part though. Maybe Helga did care…if only just a little bit.

He had to admit, things had been a little strange between the two of them lately.

Maybe it had started a little after the FTI incident, but thinking about that only made Arnold more confused and so he usually sent those kinds of thoughts to the back of his mind-where he only occasionally acknowledged their existence.

To anyone else, it would seem as if everything was the same as it always was; Helga continued to insult him, push him around, mock him in public….and Arnold continued to take it all without any form a retaliation.

'_Okay. Maybe that's not exactly true.'_ Arnold admitted to himself, recalling April fools day.

Helga had wasted no time in making Arnold the butt of all her pranks and tricks, and he had finally just….snapped. He had decided that he'd been humiliated enough and was finally going to do something about it. Fight fire with fire.

When he had finally retaliated though- given her that present that had unleashed a blinding light- his satisfaction was only for the briefest of moments before he discovered he had actually blinded the girl. The amount of worry he had felt waiting outside the nurses office that day, and the guilt he felt when Helga had stumbled out with that unfocused look in her eyes…

It wasn't worth it.

He had felt so guilty that he had even asked Helga to the April fools dance, hoping to make up for it in some way.

When he later discovered the Helga had been faking her blindness as yet another prank, and a way to make him feel like a fool….He'd decided for the second time that he was going to fight back.

Gerald had helped ease him into the idea, but it had been his decision in the end. He had just been so unbelievably…frustrated and….and maybe even disappointed in Helga to the point of anger.

Still, as he recalled their tango, he couldn't help but want to smile. He was certain that his uncharacteristic behavior had thrown Helga off guard, and it had been kind of refreshing-even if he had been a little too focused on his task to fully appreciate it then.

'_**Arnold, you're being kind of rough.'**_

"_**don't worry my poor, blind friend. You're in good hands.'**_

A blush tinted Arnold face as he recalled their exchange, but he pushed those thoughts aside.

The point was that, although they continued to treat each other just like they always had, it almost seemed like they had to put more effort into it. Like they were _trying_ to keep things the same between them, even though they both knew something was different.

Arnold was as much to blame as Helga was-even if he didn't realize it (and, of course, he didn't).

"Well this isn't good."

Arnold blinked, jerking himself out of his thoughts as he looked up. The nurse stood before Helga, the thermometer in her hand, shaking her head.

"101.4" She replied with a sigh. "No wonder you fainted."

Arnold looked to Helga, who seemed surprised at this new bit of information.

"I'll get you something to help take down the fever," the nurse told her, "and then we can call your parents to come pick you up, okay?"

Helga just gave a faint nod as a reply and the nurse walked off into another, smaller room within her office to retrieve some medicine- leaving Arnold and Helga alone.

* * *

**don't think I ended this chapter right, but it had to end somehow. Hm...is this chapter longer than the others?**

**Chapter four is going to take some work...so you'll just have to be patient. I'm surprised I even finished this chapter considering I've worked the last five days straight and its 3 o'clock in the morning.**

**Anyway, I'm anxious to hear (or read) what you think of this. Am I going in the right direction with the story or is it too...OOC...or just not believable?**

**Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello Readers!**

**I apologize for the long wait. Sadly, time has not been on my side (Nor has inspiration).**

**I can't say I'm even all that satisifed with how this chapter turned out, but I hope me saying that doesn't discourage you from reading. **

**I'm hoping I can still make this story work-and it be good too.**

* * *

--

Arnold shifted in his seat, trying to think of something to say, anything at all to get rid of the heavy silence that had quickly fallen between him and Helga. He stared up at her, but Helga was looking off to the side, gazing down at the edge of the table she was sitting on. He wondered what she was thinking about; if she even remembered that he was still in the room.

After a few tense moments of debating on whether or not he should say her name, Helga sighed, turning her head just enough for Arnold to at least see her expression; a tired frown, and blue eyes that seemed so distant; as if she were miles away. It was strange to see Helga look so….defeated. He wasn't even sure if that was the right word to describe how she looked, but it was the only thing that came close. Whatever it was, Arnold suddenly felt the need to do something -anything- to help make her feel better, even if he wasn't sure what he needed to do, or even if he could do it.

"What are you still doing here, Arnoldo?"

Her voice was thick with exhaustion, almost emotionless in tone, yet it still managed to startle him.

"What do you mean?" He asked, wincing at how nervous he had just sounded, like he had been accused of some kind of wrong doing.

Helga was too tired to notice and only frowned at his question, still refusing to look up at him, or even answer. A part of her was afraid that if she faced him-feeling the way she did now-that he would some how be able to see right through her; see inside her, and discovery all her secrets. It was kind of silly, she realized, but the fear lingered despite reason.

After a few seconds of silence, Arnold spoke.

"I'm just worried about you, Helga." he admitted, in a much calmer voice. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Despite the part of Helga that was swooning over Arnold's concern, she managed to shrug and mumble a faint 'whatever' as a reply.

"Did the nurse say what's wrong with you?" Arnold asked, intently.

Helga stiffened a bit, and despite having wanted to avoid eye contact, she couldn't help sending him an annoyed and disbelieving stare.

"You're kiddin' me, right?" Helga asked. "Weren't you listening at all?"

"Um," Arnold nervously rubbed the back of his neck, caught off guard by Helga's sudden change in tone. "Well, I heard her say you had a fever but…"

"Nothing else, huh?" Helga guessed, a dull expression on her face.

Arnold's sheepish smile was all the answer she needed.

"Figures." Helga scoffed, though not entirely surprised.

She had been glancing over at him almost the entire time the nurse had been fussing over her, and it was obvious that he had been in deep thought about…something. She recalled him even smiling at one point, a faint blush coming across his face.

'_Probably thinking about Li-la,'_ Helga thought disdainfully. '_Can't believe him; even when he's with me, he still thinking about **her.**'_

Arnold noticed the growing disapproval on her face and frowned in confusion.

"So..," He began cautiously. "What exactly did she say?"

Helga blinked, but frowned soon after.

"Not much." she replied, starring down at her lap. "She isn't technically a doctor so she can't diagnose me or anything."

Arnold raised an eyebrow, slightly bothered by the fact that Helga still hadn't given him an answer.

"Did she at least say what she thinks might be wrong?"

"Why do you care so much anyway, Football head?" Helga asked a bit harshly, though also very curious as to what his answer might be.

Arnold blinked, sitting up a little straighter in his seat. "Why wouldn't I care?"

For a moment Helga felt the annoyance fade from her face, a warm feeling spreading within her. She managed to push the feeling away, however, but not before Arnold had seen her expression.

"Right. I almost forgot." She scoffed, arms now crossed. "Mr.Goody-two-shoes cares about everyone."

Arnold frowned indignantly, but the moment passed and he sighed.

"You're right, Helga. I do care about everyone." he admitted, with a touch of sincerity. "So why wouldn't I care about you too?"

Although Arnold had meant for his words to be reassuring, Helga mentally sighed, wishing that his concern for her had held more meaning than that.

"Right." She mumbled, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice as she looked away from him again. "Nothing personal."

Arnold stared up at her, frowning in confusion at the words he had just barely heard her say, and wondering what he had done wrong. Was she upset with him…or was she acting that way because she was sick?

The room quickly filled with that uncomfortable silence again, and Helga frowned to herself for having slipped and shown even the slightest bit of disappointment in front of him. Would he start to question her on what she said? How could she possibly answer that? Maybe he would just credit it to her being sick and say nothing at all. Was she that lucky?

She looked over at him from the corner of her eyes, but he was no longer staring at her. Instead he was leaning back in his seat against the wall, head down, looking more than a little defeated.

'_Oh for Pete's sake,'_ Helga thought, guiltily. '_I wasn't trying to burst his bubble or anything. Is he really that upset with me?'_

Helga frowned, biting her bottom lip for a moment apprehensively.

'_criminey!'_ she thought, glaring down at her hands. '_I can never win with him.'_

"She said it's probably a really bad cold, or the flu or something."

She favored Arnold with a quick glance to see if he had heard her, and hoped he was at least satisfied that she had answered his question. What she didn't expect to see, after his initial surprise, was the complete look of relief on his face.

He leaned back in his seat, and sighed. "That's good."

Helga stiffened at the comment, offended.

"Excuse me?" she asked, glaring over at him.

"Huh?!" Arnold looked up startled.

"Did you stay in here just make sure I was sick?" she asked, anger apparent in her voice.

"What?-No!" he shook his head. "Helga I'd never-I thought that-I mean…"

"So _glad _I didn't disappoint you, Arnoldo," Helga replied with bitter sarcasm.

"Helga, it's not like that. Really!"

Helga raised one side of her eyebrow up in question and he sighed.

"I'm just glad it's nothing serious." he admitted almost tiredly.

"Of course it's not serious. What, did you think I was..." Helga's annoyance vanished, realization hitting her. "You mean you thought..." She blinked, a bit stunned. "Oh."

Arnold looked down, seeming embarrassed.

Helga tried desperately to think of something, anything, to say back to him. Something sarcastic, something mean,...to at least roll her eyes at him, glare at him, disregard his words...ANYTHING!

Criminey, why did Arnold have to be so wonderful? He was only making it even harder for Helga to act like her usual self; and now he was staring at her again, with those gorgeous green eyes that made her feel all goofy inside..

"I..uh,"

_'Keep it together, Helga.'_ she told herself, yet despite this she felt her resolve weaken.

"Arnold, I.."

The sound of the lunch bell ringing caused both of them to jump, Helga letting out a small yelp of surprise followed by a few dry coughs-which she quickly covered up by clearing her throat.

Arnold placed a hand over his racing heart, and laughed quietly to himself at both his and Helga's fright.

Still, a part of him couldn't help but wonder what she was about to say to him; especially after seeing the look on her face- a mix of shock and…possibly gratitude? Was she going to thank him?

"So...I guess you can leave then" Helga announced.

"Huh?" Arnold looked up, startled from his thoughts.

"Now that you know I'm going to live and all." she added at his expense.

Arnold blushed at the reminder. "Oh, um..right."

He stood up, hesitantly, and suddenly felt very out of place.

"So..I guess I'll see you later then." Arnold said a bit reluctant to leave, even though he knew Helga would be okay; it just didn't feel right to him.

Helga eyed him suspiciously, but shrugged.

"Right…," he paused, still standing there. "I, uh..hope you feel better soon."

She continued to stare at him, silently asking him what he was waiting for. He obviously wasn't going to leave without her saying something back, so she swallowed against her slightly swollen throat, and looked him in the eye.

"Yeah." She replied, speaking somewhat softly. "Me too."

Arnold smiled some, admitting to himself that he kinda liked seeing the less intimidating side to Helga.

Still, there was no more reason for him to stay, so he gave her a reassuring smile and turned toward the door, pausing with his hand on the knob when he heard the nurse walk back into the room.

"Sorry for the wait deary," She apologized, a bottle of children's Tylenol in her hand. "I'm afraid I wasn't able to reach your parents."

Helga blinked, almost forgetting that the nurse had said she would call them to come get her. She then inwardly frowned at how stupid she was; Of course no one answered at home; her dad was at work, and Miriam was either engrossed in her morning soap operas or in another smoothie induced sleep.

"Is there perhaps another number I can reach them at?" the nurse asked

Helga knew her fathers work number, but she also knew what calling him would mean. He would no doubt take his time in coming to get her, then complain the entire way home about how inconvenient it was, saying he was missing his important work because of her, reminding her half-a-dozen times that Olga never got sick. She felt like groaning just thinking about it.

"My dad has a cell phone, but he's out of town," She lied, "On business."

"Oh." the nurse replied. "What about your sister? I noticed she's the only other person listed under your emergency contacts."

"She's away at college." Helga answered, this time truthfully and with a twinge of bitterness.

"I see." the nurse replied. "And your mother; is she also not home?"

Helga frowned, thinking of the best way to answer.

"yes, she's home." she replied, "But we've been having a lot of trouble with our phone lately. That's probably why you couldn't reach her."

The nurse just nodded, looking a bit thoughtful.

"But she's definitely home. " Helga confirmed. "So, no problem, right? It's not like I live far from here. I could walk home myself."

"I'm afraid not, Helga." the nurse replied.

"Wha- why not?" Helga sputtered.

"I couldn't possible allow you to walk home by yourself, hon." the nurse shook her head. "You've already fainted once, and you still have a fever. It's just not safe."

Helga frowned, annoyed.

"So I just go back to class then?" She asked.

"Oh goodness, no." the nurse replied. "We can't send you back to class with you sick."

"Then..then what am I suppose to do?" Helga asked, surprising herself with how desperate -rather than angry- she sounded.

Arnold frowned at Helga's tone, glancing over his shoulder to look at her. She had no one to come get her, she couldn't go home by herself, and it seemed like she would be stuck there for the rest of the day feeling horrible.

"Well, I suppose I could take you home after my shift." the nurse suggested before smiling. "You wouldn't have to go back to class; you could just hang out here with me. Does that sound alright?"

By the look on Helga's face, Arnold guessed that she was fighting the urge to groan at the suggestion- either that or she was feeling nauseous again.

She didn't seem to notice that he was still standing there, looking back at them. Part of him was saying that he should just leave, get back to class before he was late-or any later- and just find comfort in knowing that Helga would get home-somehow- even if it was the nurse who took her. That part of him, however, was small compared to the other part of him which was telling him to do something, anything to help. He knew he didn't have to, he knew Helga could get by without him, and he knew she probably didn't even want his help, but for some reason -for the second time that day- he found himself volunteering without really thinking.

"I can take her."

The nurse turned toward him a bit surprised, and Helga's eyes grew wide and almost panicky.

"If that's okay." Arnold added, a bit self conscious.

The nurse blinked and then a smile appeared across her face. "Oh that would be wonderful, Arnold." She replied. "I'm sure Helga would appreciate that."

Helga inwardly groaned.

"Now lets see." the nurse said, setting the bottle of Tylenol down and going over to her desk. "You're both in the same class-correct?"

"Yeah." Arnold replied, and after a moments thought he smiled. "Since preschool, actually."

The nurse looked over her shoulder at him and smiled, before grabbing a pen off her desk and scribbling something down on a piece of paper.

"Well then," She replied bringing the piece of paper over to him. "You give this to your teacher, and bring back anything Helga may need. This will excuse the both of you from class."

"Thanks." Arnold replied, accepting the paper from her. "I'll..um, be right back."

He looked over at Helga again and she glared at him in return. Sighing to himself, he gave her a slightly forced smile before turning to leave, a part of him wondering if he would live to regret his decision.

When the door shut behind him, Helga's stomach felt uneasy again. She frowned, folding her arms slowly around her midsection.

"What a nice young man," The nurse said, turning toward her.

Helga scoffed, ignoring the unsettling filling in the pit of her stomach. "Yeah. If ya like stupid football heads who can't mind their own business."

The nurse looked at Helga for a moment and smiled gently.

"I see" She said a bit knowingly as she made her way toward her, picking up the bottle of Tylenol and untwisting the cap.

"Ya know, Helga" she continued, pulling out the syringe from the front pocket of her white coat. "You're very lucky to have someone who cares so much about you."

Helga looked up at the nurse, a blush tinting her cheeks.

"Yeah, whatever." she muttered, looking the other way, and mentally wincing at how obvious she must be.

_'Oh, for crying out loud._' Helga thought. _'I can't even stop myself from blushing in front of the stupid nurse. How the heck am I suppose to deal with Arnold; the object of my affections?'_

Helga watched from the corner of her eyes as the nurse filled the syringe with thick red liquid. She shuddered at the thought of horribly tasting cheery medicine that was soon to enter her mouth, and subconsciously leaned back, staring up at the ceiling.

_'I'll just have to try a little harder'_ she decided. _'I can't let Arnold find out how I feel about him, no matter how wonderful he is, or how nice he smells, or-Argh! Stop it!'_

"Alright, deary." the nurse announced, medicine in hand.

Helga sighed.

This was not going to be easy.

--

* * *

**Well, there it is. **

**I kind of feel like I may be letting my readers down with this chapter, but it's necessary in order for the story to progress (into more interesting moments between them!).**

**I'll try and make the next chapter better, but I can't say for sure how long it will take me.**

**Please review (no flames though, please).**


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